Newly elected officers of Adelphi Momauguin Lodge No. 63

Congratulations to the newly elected officers of Adelphi Momauguin Lodge No. 63 for 2010!

Worshipful Master - James Tirrell
Senior Warden - Thomas Hardy
Junior Warden - Mark Osenko
Treasurer - William Demetriades
Secretary - Charles Tirrell
Tyler - Wayne Bailey
Trustee - James Cesario

The installation of officers will be held at the North Haven Masonic Building on Saturday, January 9th at 2:00 pm. 2010 should be a great year!

Master on the March

I had a chance to chat with my lodge's Worshipful Master today via Facebook messenger. I wrote about W:. Brother Dan and his trip to Australia this afternoon in the post entitled "Our Worshipful Master Down Under." He gave me a quick update on how things are going and forwarded me an email that he's submitting to the Connecticut Freemasons Publication discussing a recent visit to an Australian Lodge. Here is a copy of the text of his upcoming article for your reading pleasure.

Master on the March

During my travels in Australia I managed to visit Lodge Kiama in the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia. The commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901, and the lodges of Kiama formed a single unified lodge in 1889. Prior to that there were a number of small lodges operating in Kiama from 1871 under a Charter issued from the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

I was surprised to find the differences in our signs as quickly as my examination before I could enter the lodge. There ritual work was also far different from ours, including the placement of some lodge officers. I had gone in anticipating finding the Junior Warden located in the North instead of the South because of the hemisphere change, but that was not the case (their ritual work explains the difference); nor does their floor work take them counterclockwise about the altar.

It was nice to see that they had adopted some of the more modern plans for Masonic meetings such as posting the minutes instead of reading them and shortening the business meeting in order to have guest speakers or a presentation. Worshipful Brother Chris Huer, the Master of Lodge Kiama welcomed me warmly and presented me with a History of Freemasonry in Kiama and a book called the Centenary of Lodge Kiama. Due to the comparative youth of Australia to other countries they hold a special reverence for the enduring nature of Lodge Kiama.

During the period of fellowship that followed the meeting I was honored as a guest and requested to speak. There is a concern in Lodge Kiama as there is in many other lodges, regarding a lack of youth in the fraternity. Since I am from a younger lodge they asked how we keep younger members involved. I also asked about how they normally stay relevant throughout their community. I was pleased to find out that the Grand Lodge of NSW wants lodges to focus on local charity rather than donations to larger national charities. The way the Grand Lodge reinforces this precept is by matching the money a lodge raises for the community. As an example, Lodge Kiama wanted to help a local non-profit community group purchase a small bus for transporting children and they managed to raise $10,000 for this project. The Grand Lodge of NSW then matched the money for a total donation of $20,000, cementing the bond between Lodge Kiama and the local population.

My favorite part of the evening was really the exchanging of stories and of ideas. I hope to continue a relationship between Adelphi-Momauguin and Lodge Kiama for years to come in hopes that we might continue to exchange ideas and plans, forging a bond of fellowship though oceans apart.

DW Hawthorne
WM AM63

Please make sure your check out W:. Brother Dan's blog and follow his further adventures in Australia.

Our Worshipful Master Down Under

One of the new directions that I plan to take this blog in is talking about how Freemasonry truly brings people together. Never have I seen an organization that allows men of all walks of life to come together, labor with each other and become much more than mere acquaintances. Our brothers are brought together regardless of politics, religion, creed, race, profession or class. Within the walls of the Masonic Lodge, you can meet men that you would never have had the opportunity to meet in their regular lives. This post will be one example of the new direction of this blog focusing on this concept.

Earlier this year, Carl Ek, a Past Master of my lodge and past District Deputy (and my chaplain during my two years as master) spoke to the members of our lodge about a great opportunity. His chapter of the Rotary club is funding a group study and exchange program to Australia, where non-Rotarians are chosen to travel to Australia for a month with all expenses paid. While in Australia, the members of the program will be required to make presentations about their profession to other professionals in their field and to learn more about their industry abroad. Additionally, they will be given the opportunity to explore the country and meet new people.

Our Worshipful Master, Dan Hawthorne, who was currently serving in his second year as master, applied for the program and was accepted. About two weeks ago, he and his other companions traveled to Australia and began their mission. Dan has been reporting on his adventures on his blog and the full details can be found here: http://theeverblog.theeverwar.com/

Dan and I have been close friends since high school and I am excited that he will have this opportunity to explore the land down under. But what does this have to do with Freemasonry and bringing different people together?

If it was not for our Masonic Lodge, Dan and I would probably never have met Brother Carl and gotten to know him. Carl is a Yale Graduate, in the advertising profession and is thirty years our senior. The typical social circles that Dan and I run in rarely intersect with the circles that Carl would frequent. However, our lodge bridged this gap and allowed us all to become friends and brothers. This is just one of the countless examples of brothers who we would probably not have known and become close with. Dan's friendship with Carl led the way to Carl recommending him for this group exchange, which is now allowing Dan to explore another continent on the other side of the world and to meet even more people. Freemasonry is a far more powerful than any social networking site and far more diverse than any typical social club.

Let us never forget that the most important part of Freemasonry is bringing men from different stations in life together upon the level of equality.

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated

As was recently reported by Brother M.M.M. over at the North Eastern Corner, we had a chance meet-up of several of the CT Bloggers at our Grand Lodge Worshipful Master's Seminar. I came to the seminar, not to attend, but to act as chauffeur for my lodge's Senior Warden (also my younger brother). Brother M.M.M. and I had a chance to chat outside the seminar and we briefly spoke about how things have changed in the Masonic Blogosphere and several of the more active online brothers have become silent, myself included. I assured him that I wasn't quite dead yet and that perhaps I had a second wind in me. So after encouragement from Brother M.M.M. and invoking the spirit of Brother MacArthur, I can now declare "I have returned."

But what have I returned as? Do I go back to blogging about gmail, leadership diagrams, email formats, websites, etc.? Mayhaps at times, but I'd like to change the focus of this blog.

In the past year, I've done a lot of Masonic traveling. I've enjoyed some great company, experienced truly enjoyable fellowship and seen a much brighter Masonic mosaic. I'd like to record and share this inspiration and focus more on what is right about Masonry, then what needs to be fixed. I am a member of the greatest fraternity in the world and I'd like to talk about what makes it great.

Welcome to a different path for the Masonic Renaissance.

This is not Masonry....

This is not Masonry. This post is not Masonry. The blogosphere is not Masonry. The internet is not Masonry.

Like many brothers on the web, I have spent a significant amount of time following the back and forth occurring on various Masonic Blogs. Many blog posts have been ripe with disagreements, fights, arguments, contention, hatred and generally un-brotherly un-Masonic conduct. Like daytime TV, gladiatorial matches and professional wrestling, these examples of the most basic of human emotion has attracted me like a moth to a flame. I have paid unnecessary attention to it, like a passer-by gazing at a car wreck. Not giving assistance, yet transfixed and focused on the destruction. These brothers are not building the temple while they fight and I am not building the temple while I idly watch. This is not Masonry.

This bad energy has permeated my being and has nearly poisoned my own love for Masonry. After the long summer months I have felt dread about returning to my labors, not because I dread my lodge, my valley or my district. But because I have convolved the bad blood being shown over the internet with what real Masonry is. I have somehow confused the ill will shown by brothers in this land of bits and bytes with the brothers of flesh and blood.

Real Masonry is your lodge. Real Masonry is your brothers. Real Masonry is your community. Real Masonry is helping the poor and distressed. Real Masonry is looking to God, thanking him for his beautiful gift and continuing with your labors no matter how much the world-at-large has been sullied. We labor not in spite of our flawed humanity, we labor to better our flawed humanity, not to give into our more base instincts.

The brothers of my lodge, my valley, my district and my Grand Lodge have recently reminded me why I labor. This was not a conscious reminder on their part. No one stopped and noticed the corrosive forces at work in my soul. No one stopped, said that I looked lost and actively showed me the way. They didn't need to, they did what Masonry is meant to do. Masonry gives no man light. Masonry shows no man where the light is. Masonry isn't light. Masonry reminds men that there is light in this world and that we are all seeking it together. A calming joke at the right time, a friendly hand shake, a shared pizza, a chat about life; this is Masonry. Being there when your brothers need you and finding your brothers when you need them. This is Masonry.

Turn off your computer. Close your laptop. Thank God for the light in this world. Lock arms with your brothers and find a ray of that life-giving force which serves to enlighten our hearts and minds. Live Masonry.


".....that cement which unites us into one sacred band, or society of friends and brothers, among whom no contention should ever exist, but that noble contention, or rather emulation, of who best can work and best agree."

My Masonic Tattoo

I haven't had a chance to blog lately. Unfortunately, work and life has been extremely busy. Lodges in the area will be gearing up again after the summer break soon. Which means I will have even less time. Hopefully, I'll be able to fit in some of my latest thoughts and ideas later on.

In the meantime, RWB Simon LaPlace has asked me to take a photo of my Masonic tattoo for a possible upcoming CT Freemasons (The GLofCT's Newspaper) article. I got this tattoo in 2000, shortly after being raised. Some of you may have seen my ink immortalized in this post by VWB Tom Accuosti from the Tao of Masonry. I figured that a good higher resolution would be nice to share, so with further ado.



Additional Diabetes Related News: I posted a while back about my recent diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes. I recently saw the doctor and I had by blood levels checked out. When I was first diagnosed, my Hemoglobin A1C levels were 10.9, which is extremely bad. After a month of medication, exercise and dieting, I had it down to 9.9. Better, but still not good. The Hemoglobin A1C test is a reading of how your sugar levels have been for the past three months. The doctor tells me this is the "cheat" test, because a patient can't be good for a few days before the appointment and "cheat" a good reading on it.

It has now been four months since I was diagnosed. My latest reading was 6.1. A reading between 7 and 6 is ideal for a person with controlled diabetes. So I'm doing great! My diabetes doesn't control me, I control my diabetes. I've still got to focus on lossing more weight and exercising regularly, but I'm moving in the right direction. It looks like I'll have to talk the stewards into serving more salads ;)

Email Etiquette - The Do's

This post is a continuation of my previous post on Email Etiquette. The Do's and Don'ts outlined in these posts are not specifically Masonic and can be used in your personal life and in the workplace. However, effective communication is of the utmost importance within the Masonic Lodge and writing effective emails is extremely important in today's world. Therefore, it's vital that Masonic lodges not only adopt email as a form of communication, but adopt good email etiquette as an effective form of communication. Here are the Do's of Email Etiquette.

Email Etiquette - Do's!

1. Do get to the point - The best email is a short email. Just remember KISS - Keep It Short and Simple. People do not want to search through lines and lines of babbling to get to what is important. When you're writing about an event, just include what, where, when, who and how. When writing a request, just include what you need, by when and from whom. Emails are not Masonic ritual, they do not need to be filled with flowery prose and esoteric meaning.
2. Do spell-check and grammar-check - I don't enjoy reading letters written by ten-year olds, nor do I enjoy reading letters by grown men who write like ten-year olds. When writing emails to brothers, I try to hold to the "Reread it thrice" rule. Reread your email three times and you should catch most, if not all, errors and omissions. Computerized spell-checkers and grammar-checkers are a good tool, but are far from perfect. For example, Microsoft Word doesn't find anything wrong with this sentence "I can't believe there leaving they’re children their alone!"
3. Do read it out loud before you send it - A sure fire way to find mistakes in your writing is to read it out loud or better yet, have someone else read it out loud to you.
4. Do reply quickly if possible - One of the key benefits of email is that it is a method of rapid response. If you can, reply to your sender with what he is looking for. If your reply depends on something that will occur in the future, send a quick message saying when he will hear from you. Email is cheap and easy. Feel free to send little messages, just so that the recipient knows that you are paying attention.
5. Do not send an email without a meaningful subject - When people have to process large numbers of email daily they typically need to decide quickly how they want to act on an email. Depending on what the reader is currently doing, he may want to fully read an email, save it for later, reply to it, archive it or delete it. By putting a descriptive subject in the email, you allow the reader to decide what should be done with the email quickly and easily. A descriptive subject should summarize the content of the email in as few words as possible. Here are some examples of good subjects.
   • RSVP for Blue Lodge Council Dinner
   • Officer Information regarding EA Degree
   • Potential Motion for Grand Lodge Semi-Annual
   • Photos from Family BBQ
   • Letter from Worshipful Master for newsletter
     
   Here are some examples of bad subjects
   • info
   • lodge
   • Re:
   • 
     
   • Update
   • This is that link
     
6. Do specify who should respond - When sending an email to a group of individuals, be sure to specifically mention who should be responding to the email. This will reduce two potential problems. First, you're less likely to get bombarded with a huge number of un-needed responses. Second, you're more likely to receive a reply from the person who you want to hear from. For example, asking a question like "Can we have an Entered Apprentice degree next month?" is vague and un-specific. However, if this questions can be posed as "Bob, when will the hall be rented next month so we can see if an EA degree is possible?" or "John, will the candidate be interviewed prior to our meeting next month, so that we can hold an EA degree?". This is requesting specific information from specific people and will receive specific responses. Be specific!
7. Do supply only one topic per post - One email should have one topic. Don't be afraid to send out several emails each with a different topic. This will help your brothers be able to sort through each topic and prioritize their actions. Don't mix minutes, announcements, event planning and the kitchen sink all into the same message.
8. Do send your emails in plain text, unless you know the recipient can read html-encoded mail - More and more email clients now allow composing emails with colors, different fonts and images, however many email clients do not. So if you write an email using all sorts of funky formatting, the receiver may not be able to open it. Therefore, mass emails should be written using just plan text. Don't worry about the colors and the pretty pictures, let your content speak for itself.
9. Do have a comprehensive signature - Signatures are bits of text that are put at the end of emails to supply the recipient with vital information about the sender. You can create a signature that holds important contact information about you, such as phone number, address, calendar link, website, etc. Furthermore, most email clients can have multiple signatures for specific contexts. Therefore, you can set up a "Masonic" signature that lists your lodge, it's address and it's website.
10. Do use Email! - Email is cheap, fast and easy. It has become a critical avenue of world communication. Masonry can use email to communicate within as well as without the lodge. Email can be used for sending treatleboards, event announcements, personal messages, candidate information, dues reminders and countless other applications. Let email become one of the working tools of your profession!